Norway Increases Stake in Fish-Feed Producer Cermaq to 59.2%

June 25 (Bloomberg) -- Norway increased its stake in fish-feed maker Cermaq ASA to 59.2 percent after earlier this month
rejecting a rival offer from billionaire John Fredriksen’s
Marine Harvest ASA, the world’s largest salmon producer.

The government today bought 5 million shares in Cermaq at
108 kroner a share, having previously acquired 9.46 million at
the same price, the Trade and Industry Ministry said in a
statement today. The acquisition is valued at 1.56 billion
kroner ($256.1 million), according to Bloomberg calculations.

Norway has sought to keep control of Cermaq, the biggest
maker of fish-feed, as industry consolidation accelerates. The
government, which rejected Marine Harvest’s offer as too low,
has maintained its investment in Cermaq is financial rather than
strategic and that it’s open to an “industrially-sound
solution” for the company.

Oslo-based Cermaq, which operates fish farms as well as
making feed, has received a 6.2 billion-krone offer for its Ewos
unit, which makes feed, from Bain Capital LLC and Altor Equity
Partners. Cermaq’s board will hold an extraordinary meeting on
July 11 to decide on the deal, which needs the backing of 50
percent of shareholders. The government hasn’t said whether it
supports the proposed transaction.

Fish-Feed Sale

“A sale of Ewos at the above mentioned terms will be an
important step to realize the values in Cermaq,” the company
said on June 17. Once the potential agreement is completed, the
company plans to focus on developing its farming operations in
Norway, Canada and Chile, it said.

Cermaq’s fish feed operations contributed operating
revenues of 10.3 billion kroner last year, compared with sales
of 3.3 billion kroner for its fish farming operations, according
to its annual report. Ewos is the world’s largest salmon feed
supplier by volume, while its farming unit is the third-largest
salmon producer, it said in the report.

Shares in Cermaq rose as much as 5.4 percent to 108 kroner,
the most in a month, and traded 1 percent higher as of 1:45 p.m.
in Oslo. That gives the company a market value of 9.6 billion
kroner. Marine Harvest gained as much as 3.6 percent and traded
2.2 percent higher at 5.87 kroner as of the same time.